Non-destructive testing (NDT) of parts of a turbomachine motor makes it possible to check the state of these parts without damaging them. In some cases, this testing may require the motor to be removed and partly dismantled in order to inspect parts that are difficult to access with the inspection means.
A known inspection device comprises a rigid rod carrying a test probe or sensor at its distal end. Where the turbomachine is equipped with endoscopic orifices, this rod is introduced into the turbomachine through one of these orifices for the in situ inspection of parts of the turbomachine, which avoids removing the motor.
However, the area accessible to this rod is very limited and in general extends in line with the endoscopic orifice and at a short distance from this orifice. In addition, when the probe carried by the rod must be used on a part to be inspected, this probe must be applied with a certain pressure and for a given period on a surface of this part, which is not always possible with the aforementioned device.
For example, in the case of a turbomachine comprising seals of the labyrinth type, each of these seals comprises external annular lips carried by the rotor of the turbomachine and cooperating with blocks of abradable material carried by an internal annular platform of stator blades of the turbomachine. To access the lips of a labyrinth seal, the inspection probe must be passed through a very narrow space, which may have a width or axial dimension of approximately 1 mm, which is not possible with the aforementioned rod.
As a result some areas of a turbomachine remain difficult to access with the known non-destructive testing devices, since these are not designed to pass through orifices or passages of small size and through several orifices and/or non-aligned consecutive passages.